I like to know where the source of the info is; if it's the American Dairy Association or Pillsbury, well, you know those folks might be a bit biased in their presentation. (Money and profit drives so much of the information exchange, doesn't it?!)
The following is the "All You" list, with additional commentary by me. Got to run it through my filter, don't ya know...
- Peanut Butter: Seems like a natural choice, full of protein, calories, and unsaturated fat. (It costs about 20¢ for 2 tablespoons. Such a deal.)
- Eggs: Good; lean protein and other nutrients, at just around 13¢ per large egg.
- Oats: Healthy, whole grain. Also, did you know you can get a good organic oatmeal at the health food store for a decent price? It's way cheaper to buy dry grains (like oatmeal) than boxed cereal. Consider that you add water to it to cook it, getting even more value, pound for pound. Plus, boxed cereals (even from the health food store) have been extruded. Come on, you know you don't want that! (Devoid of the nutrients that would naturally occur, hard to digest...) Quick-cooking oats cost about 17¢ per 1/2 cup.
- Apples: Now the "All You" article mentions this fruit, but consider that apples are often heavily sprayed. I wouldn't put them on my "healthy AND cheap" list. But if you don't mind the potential pesticides, they are only about 60¢ each.
- Spinach: I would include this veggie on the list only if you can find organic. Sometimes organic is on sale. Otherwise, spinach is another leafy green that can be exposed to considerable pesticides. It's got lots of nutrients (vitamin A, C, K and folic acid and manganese). It might have pesticides too though. But it is reasonably priced; around $1 for 5 ounces of fresh spinach.
- Beans: The article I checked out mentioned beans too, but showed a can of beans. I would go a step further: Cook your own! If you want to make your carbon footprint just a bit smaller, don't buy pre-cooked foods (full of extra liquid). Think of how much less energy is spent transporting a pound of dry beans (which, after cooking in water, will yield up to 3 lbs. of beans). Dry beans are an incredible value, full of fiber and minerals, at quite a good price. If you do cook up a big batch of beans, they freeze very well. We keep packets of frozen garbanzos on hand at The New Deli, ready for salads, and portions of frozen Black Bean Chili on hand too. But even a can of beans is cheap too, about 35¢ per 1/2-cup serving.
- Frozen vegetables: I can't argue that frozen veggies need to be on this list. Picked at their peak and quickly frozen, they retain lots of nutrients and are easy to use as the need arises. They don't deteriorate in the refrigerator drawer. (You save a lot of money by NOT throwing out those veggies that got too old before they were used.) And most frozen veggies cost only around 40¢ per serving.
- Sweet potatoes: This veggie is low on the glycemic index, and it's filling too, with fiber and vitamins to boot. All for about $1 a piece.
- Brown rice: Now we're talking healthy. Now we're talking value. Less carbon footprint, too, transporting this dry good from farm to your table, at about 37¢ per 1/2 cup of cooked rice.
- Canned tuna fish: I just wouldn't put this on my list. If you're hard up for protein at a cheap price, why not go for the eggs, or beans? There's been too much talk about the metals found in fish. But tuna does have a lot of lean protein, for only 75¢ for 3 ounces...
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